I’ve been on a tear lately trying to use up things in my pantry. One of those things was a bag of dates that had been lingering around for longer than I would like to admit. It was time for them to move out, and I found them a new home thanks to one of my favorite baking books, Regan Daley’s In the Sweet Kitchen. She has a recipe for moist date cupcakes, flecked with vanilla bean and frosted with buttermilk fudge. It sounded so interesting, I had to give it a go!

With the combination of dates, brown sugar and buttermilk, the cakes are golden-hued, really moist and delicious, and keep nicely for a few days. There isn’t a picture in the book, but the author’s instructions led me to believe that the frosting would be quite stiff. Mine actually had a consistency in between a glaze and a normal icing. I could definitely spread it on, but I couldn’t heap it on. It is definitely sweet, though, and a little goes a long way, so maybe that was a good thing. I thought about chilling the icing, then whipping it further, but I liked the smooth tops and gentle drips that formed as it set.

-Add the buttermilk and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the date paste into the batter with a rubber spatula.

-Divide the batter among the cupcake cups, filling each one 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

-Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.

-Combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, buttermilk and baking soda in a heavy-bottomed pot (use a larger pot than you think you will need…this mixture bubbles up to about four times its original volume as it comes to the boil!). Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat slightly and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir one last time as it comes to the boil, then don’t stir again.

-Boil the syrup until it reaches 236°F on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage). You will see that the frosting caramelizes as it cooks. Immediately pour it into a mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip). Let it cool for about five minutes.

-Stir in the vanilla extract or paste, then beat on medium speed until thick enough to spread, about five minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add the additional buttermilk, one teaspoon at a time.

-Slather the tops of the cupcakes with the frosting and cool before serving. You can place the cupcakes in the refrigerator to set the icing if it seems loose, or add additional teaspoons of buttermilk if it seems too thick. (If it is too loose to work with, you can try chilling it for 10 minutes or so, then re-whipping.)

-Iced cupcakes can be stores for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator (bring to room temperature before serving). If you have more frosting than you need, transfer extras to a small, flat container…it will set up as fudge in the refrigerator.